Man charged in Bonita sexual assault, killing won't face death penalty
news-press.com • April 30, 2010
A man accused of killing and sexually assaulting a man in Bonita Springs in 2007 will not face the death penalty.
An attorney for Richard Elkins said Friday he received notice that prosecutors have dropped their efforts to try to put to death Elkins, 21.
He is charged with one count each of first-degree murder and sexual battery with a deadly weapon in connection with the February 2007 killing of Obed Flores behind the Bonita Springs Shopping Center. Lee County sheriff's detectives believe Flores grabbed Elkins’ genitals when they walked behind Warehouse Billiards to smoke marijuana. Elkins then sexually assaulted Flores and beat him to death with a shovel, according to reports of the killing.
Fort Myers attorney David Brener, who was handling the death penalty portion of the case with Miami attorney David Peckins, said he believes it was the right decision.
“I think the death penalty is reserved for the most aggravated and least mitigated cases,” he said. “And I don’t think this was one.”
Elkins is next scheduled to be in court Sept. 28 with a trial date of Oct. 25.